Nintendo Switch 2 Price Hike Predicted for 2026 By Research Firm

Is the Nintendo Switch 2 going to get more expensive? According to research firm Niko Partners, the answer is a yes. Not right now, mind you, but a new report predicts a global Nintendo Switch 2 price hike for the console sometime in 2026.

Following in Sony's footsteps

The prediction from Niko Partners suggests the Switch 2 is set to follow the trend of its competitors. We've already seen price hikes for the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and the report states that Nintendo's next move will be “driven by the impact from tariffs, increased memory costs, and broader macroeconomic conditions.” I find this completely plausible; the pressures affecting Sony and Microsoft don't exist in a vacuum, and Nintendo is just as exposed to them.

The report notes, “Nintendo chose to maintain its $449 entry price last year despite the introduction of tariffs impacting production in China, Japan and Vietnam. More recently, increased demand for AI data centers has pushed RAM and storage prices up.” This suggests Nintendo may have absorbed the initial costs, but that can't last forever.

Reading the tea leaves

Nintendo itself has been dropping hints. Company president Shuntaro Furukawa recently told Kyoto Shimbun that while there is “no immediate impact on earnings,” the current memory market is “very volatile” and something the company must “monitor closely.” When I hear language like that, it tells me the conversation is already happening internally. He stopped short of confirming a price increase, calling it hypothetical, but the writing feels like it's on the wall.

Niko Partners also suggests a potential strategy for the increase. “While we do anticipate Nintendo to increase the price of the Switch 2, they may opt to discontinue the $449 SKU and only sell a $499 or higher bundle SKU instead.” This would be a clever way to implement a price rise without directly changing the sticker price of the base console, instead pushing consumers towards a higher-value, higher-cost package. With the potential for Call of Duty on the console, a bundled SKU seems quite likely.

Precedent has been set

This wouldn't be the first time Nintendo has adjusted prices post-launch. Just last year, the company increased the US prices for its entire original Switch lineup due to “market conditions.” The standard Switch went from $299 to $339, the Switch OLED from $349 to $399, and the Switch Lite from $199 to $229. That move showed me Nintendo is willing to react to economic pressures, making the prediction for its newer, more powerful hardware seem all the more credible.

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